The Complex Interplay between India's Ethnic Conflicts, National Security, and Grand Strategy
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https://doi.org/10.66871/trf-j.v1i2.008##semicolon##
India, Ethnic Conflict, National Security, Grand Strategy, Kashmir, Northeast India, Counterinsurgency, Strategic Stabilityसार
The handling of India's internal diversity, especially its ethnic conflicts, is essential to the country's rise to regional prominence. These disputes, which range from caste and language-based tensions in the heartland to Kashmir and the Northeast, threaten not only national unity but also the development and implementation of India's grand strategy. This essay examines the complex relationships that exist between India's changing strategic perspective, national security apparatus, and ethnic conflicts. It explores how the state tries to strike a balance between democratic governance and securitized responses, as well as how domestic unrest influences military deployment, diplomatic stances, and regional aspirations. The paper makes the case that a sustainable grand strategy must balance external assertiveness with internal pluralism through the use of interdisciplinary lenses from political science, security studies, and ethnic conflict theory. The results highlight the importance of narrative control, targeted development, and inclusive federalism as components of national security and strategic vision.
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